Wesley Corpus

"Additional Hymns for 1756"1 cf. Baker list, 182 Editorial Introduction: A series of skirmishes occurred between the English colonists in North America and French forces (with the support of several native American tribes) in 1754-55. This was part of growing conflict between England and France that broke into formal hostilities in May 1756, marking the beginning of the Seven Years War. In January 1756 Charles Wesley published a new edition of Earthquake Hymns, Pt. II (1750), with two new hymns appended: "An Hymn for the English in America" and "A Hymn for the Year 1756" (on pp. 21-24, the only pages given below). The first of these new hymns voices Wesley's concern for his compatriots across the Atlantic, longing for the millennial time of peace. The second new hymn reveals Wesley's apocalyptic assumption that this millennial time will come through a decisive act of judgment, as God clears the world of sin and establishes the reign of justice. It also hints at his conviction that events like the Lisbon earthquake portend that this judgment day is imminent cf. "Hymn on the Lisbon Earthquake" (1756). While this tone pervades Charles's publications for 1756, it did not endure through his life. An example of his more reserved eschatological stance in later years can be found in hymn 16, sts. 5-6, in Hymns for the Nation (1781). Edition: Charles Wesley. Hymns occasioned by the Earthquake, March 8, 1750, Pt. II; to which are added an Hymn for the English in America, and another for the Year 1756. 2nd edn. Bristol: Farley,